


And Right Here Tonight

by Anonymous



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, M/M, Meet-Cute, Minor Mark Lee/Na Jaemin, Slice of Life, rated for language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:15:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29159511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Five more minutes.That's what Donghyuck promises himself as he balefully stares at his alarm clock. His upstairs neighbour has five more minutes to get his—pardon Donghyuck's French—shittogether before he gets really, really mad.Or: Lee Donghyuck has been very patient with his upstairs neighbour.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno
Comments: 10
Kudos: 107
Collections: Anonymous, Love Dream 2020





	And Right Here Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [keylimefloat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/keylimefloat/gifts).



> this could be the start of something new.
> 
> —
> 
> dear kly, i hope you've had a good start into 2021 and thank you for your hard work as a pinch hitter! i'm admittedly a little nervous, i'm not fully sure how i feel about this fic either but i hope that it can bring you a laugh or two regardless!  
> i did my best to edit and correct the fic best as i could but i'm easily distracted, if you see any typos or questionable grammar that screams 'this was written at three in the morning' i humbly ask you to close your eyes. please know i'm sorry and am going to fix whatever i can as i catch it!
> 
> thank you to admin robin and admin cony for setting up and running the exchange and also a big thank you to my favourite human for giving this fic a quality check read (and, you know, for listening to me complain about how i'm behind on schedule)!
> 
> the title is shamelessly borrowed from high school musical.

_Five more minutes_.

That's what Donghyuck promises himself as he balefully stares at his alarm clock. His upstairs neighbour has five more minutes to get his—pardon Donghyuck's French— _shit_ together before he gets really, really mad.

The first time he'd heard the ruckus upstairs he hadn't thought much of it. If anything, he'd been concerned, the noise had been sudden and in the three months Donghyuck had been living in this building the people in the flat right above him had never been particularly loud. Considering Neo Zone Apartments is mostly inhabited by students and young professionals and the walls hadn't been built to be all that soundproof to begin with—you win some, you lose some—he had considered that enough of an achievement in itself.

Mark and Jaemin, the inhabitants of unit 14B, right above Donghyuck's own place, are fun, too. The first time he'd met them had been during his first week in the building when he'd come across Jaemin lugging groceries up the stairs, the lift under maintenance. As a thank you, he'd been invited for dinner and– well, the rest is history. Donghyuck wouldn't say they're the _best_ of friends but they get along well enough for him to stop by their place once in a while and invite himself over for a meal. Jaemin is generous, if by far not as outgoing as their first meeting had Donghyuck assuming, and rarely seems to mind an extra mouth to feed and his boyfriend Mark is more reserved but also fun to tease. Plus, they have the most precious cat called Rabbit.

In the grand scheme of things Donghyuck thought they all lead fairly boring, work-oriented lives that would offer very little reason for nocturnal rumbling, which made him all the more suspicious—what _was_ going on in 14B?

The noises had persisted throughout the week. Almost like clockwork, every night, setting in at maybe quarter past one skittering sounds followed by the occasional thump would plague Donghyuck's attempts to fall asleep. There could be a case made for how if he went to bed sooner he might just be able to snooze past all of it but alas, his biorhythm is as messy as one would expect of a freelance journalist somewhat fresh out of university and bedtime is equivalent to the nebulous, wee hours of the morning.

The disturbances now mark the sixth instance. Donghyuck exhales slowly and closes his eyes. It's okay, he's survived the entire past week, he can handle tonight too. Deep breaths. He'd survived most of his studies while still living at home surrounded by three teenagers and thinking of it now it's almost shocking how complacent a few months with a place all to himself has rendered him. University senior Lee Donghyuck would've scoffed at his woes right now.

His best friend-turned-ex-turned-best friend Renjun probably would be proud of him, though. The odd hours he'd slept during his studies had been a frequent point of contention, with Renjun frequently making a point to needle Donghyuck into sharing his cheap, too-small dorm bed. It'd never been to comfortable and they hadn't lasted long enough as a couple to turn their dream of a bigger frame with a nicer mattress into reality but it'd been warm and comfortable–

Donghyuck starts awake at the sound of something sharp-sounding scrabbling across the floor right overhead. For a moment, he just sits upright in his bed, waiting for the breakneck pace of his heartbeat to slow down enough for him to stop feeling dizzy. One look at his alarm clock tells him that it's 01:34. He can't have gotten more than maybe five minutes of dozing off.

This is it. Enough is enough.

There is little in him left to care about what exactly he digs up from his pile of worn-but-not-worn-enough-for-laundry clothes tossed over the bean bag at the foot of his bed. His mounting wrath even fuels him through the agony of standing in shorts and slippers in the freezing corridor as he waits for the lift. All Donghyuck really wants is for whatever Mark or Jaemin or Mark and Jaemin are getting up to at one-thirty in the morning to stop.

The fourteenth floor is empty and peaceful. No indications of anything amiss, no strange noises, nothing. For a moment Donghyuck wonders if he's just slowly but surely going mad and imagining it all. But the gust blowing past his bare legs and equally bare feet reminds him that _something_ drove him out of his warm, cozy bed at this most unholy hour. He would never get up voluntarily for no good reason, not when he'd been practically asleep.

With his resolve renewed he stomps over to unit 14B and rings the doorbell.

For a moment nothing happens. Donghyuck is already considering ringing again when the door is yanked open so abruptly that he takes a step backwards, startled.  
The person he makes out in the door, backlit by the living room light, is neither Mark nor Jaemin, though the man _is_ holding their kitten. Rabbit looks pleasantly distracted, chewing on one of the drawstrings of his hoodie.

Donghyuck is confused. There had been no movers, no announcements, the entryway looks the exact same as he recalls from the last time he came over for dinner. Hell, he can even spy Jaemin's shoes haphazardly kicked into a corner.  
If this guy's a burglar he's horrible at his job. No good criminal would give himself away like this, Donghyuck is convinced, he doesn't need a degree in villainy to know that.

"Uh– hi," Not-Mark-or-Jaemin greets and blinks.  
Rabbit gives no indication of registering anything other than the drawstring she's destroying with single-minded dedication.  
"Hi?!"  
Donghyuck has to remind himself that even though this guy clearly doesn't seem to get the concept of common decency _he_ himself very much does. The walls in this complex aren't exceptionally thick, he can't voice his grievances at the volume he would like to in this moment.  
"It's, like, almost two in the morning!" His hiss drips with venom and it is incredibly rewarding to watch the other man recoil, visibly shamed.

"What the fuck are you getting up to at this bloody hour of the day?! Also where the hell are Jaemin and Mark?!"  
Donghyuck is breathing heavily by the time he snaps his mouth shut again. The man in the doorway has at the very least the decency to look apologetic and recedes a little into the flat, inviting Donghyuck in with a nod.  
For a moment he considers declining, he has his bed to get back to but the hallway is cold and he hasn't heard a good excuse as to why his nights have known no peace for the past week yet so, instead, he takes the stranger up on the offer and breezes past him.

The heating in 14B is turned on and immediately, Donghyuck's cold feet start thawing. He doesn't mean to sag against the wall, it undermines the force of his complaint, it just happens naturally. For a moment, he allows himself to close his eyes and breathe a sigh of relief.

It's the plaintive meow that pulls him out of his tired slump again.  
Rabbit has apparently grown tired of playing with the stranger's hoodie and demands rather vocally to be let go. Donghyuck has to admit that for someone with shoulders this broad (and calves this muscular, he notes, Mr. Stranger is wearing basketball shorts that showcase them very nicely) he handles the animal with a startling amount of gentleness.

Good. That also means Donghyuck probably won't find himself murdered in cold blood. Animals don't like bad people, that's a law of nature.

"I'm sorry," the stranger begins quietly as he watches the kitty skitter off.  
"It's just– I don't live here?"  
"I noticed," Donghyuck replies dryly. Stranger huffs and seems to shrink into his hoodie.  
"I'm– I got an invitation to stay here, okay? Jaemin asked me to catsit while he and Mark are away. Family visit in Canada or something."

Oh. That explains a few things.  
"I'm Jeno, by the way."  
"Donghyuck." Thinking about it now, Donghyuck feels a little bad for immediately having assumed that this Jeno guy is a burglar. "I live in the flat right beneath this one."  
Jeno's eyes widen.  
"Oh, shoot! I'd been wondering if any of this could be heard downstairs but then I never got any complaints and–"

Sighing, Jeno tugs at the drawstrings of his hoodie. The sight of it is oddly comical and makes Donghyuck bark out a laugh—a genuine, amused one.  
"I've had cats as a kid! But Rabbit always wants to play at such _weird_ times, none of my cats ever did that! I've tried bribing her into powering herself out before but she's always asleep when I get back from work and at some point I just felt bad trying to wake her up, she looks so cute! And since no one was complaining I figured no one could _hear_ so I didn't push too hard for her not to–" He clears his throat, interrupting himself.  
"I'm rambling. Sorry."

It's hard to stay mad at Jeno. Donghyuck feels his annoyance sizzle at the back of his mind but having had both time to air his grievances a little and seeing him look so utterly defeated takes most of the remaining wind right out of his sails.  
"I've called Jaemin, too, he said Rabbit never did that with him or Mark, and I searched Naver and asked my coworkers but nothing really seems to work."  
Jeno's shoulders sag.  
"I'm really sorry we've been so loud," he adds.

With an official apology made Donghyuck feels adequately compensated. Surveying Jeno's (admittedly very attractive) face in better lighting he looks just as, if not more tired than himself and to the vindictive little devil on Donghyuck's shoulder that's enough for the moment.  
Jeno sits down on the wooden step leading up from the tiled entry area, his energy apparently gone as well.  
Donghyuck doesn't wait for an invitation to take a seat next to him.  
And soon, as if summoned by the knowledge that someone would benefit from a fluffy ball of fur to pet, Rabbit comes sauntering back, making herself comfortable in Jeno's lap.

"When are your dads coming back, hm, you rascal?" Donghyuck asks and reaches out to scratch her behind her ears. The cat meows in a way that could mean anything from _tomorrow_ to _not for another month_.  
"Wednesday in a week," Jeno translates helpfully.  
"Wednesday in a _week_?! You're going to keep me up in the middle of the night for another week and a half?!" Donghyuck continues his conversation with the cat and although his sense of exasperation is very much real he does risk a glance at Jeno just to check if he can get this new acquaintance of his to crack a smile. Or two or three, maybe. Donghyuck is willing to bet that he has a beautiful smile.

Unlike Jeno, who doesn't quite smile but returns Donghyuck's glance with an apologetic shrug, Rabbit doesn't seem particularly sorry for the trouble she's causing, instead deciding that she'd much rather dig her claws into the thin fabric of Donghyuck's sleeping shorts until he awards her with affection. This kind of logic would never really work with humans but alas, Rabbit isn't one to begin with and gets a pass for being cute. He sighs as he scratches the cat behind her ears.

"You think if she had someone play with her during the day while you're away she might be easier to deal with during the night?"  
Jeno blinks sluggishly as Donghyuck picks Rabbit only to realize that he's supposed to reply to the question.  
"I mean, maybe, but I'm not really in a position to ask to work from home, you know?"

He sighs and runs a hand over his face. Looking at Jeno now, in better lighting and with all of his major worries either settled or acknowledged as a problem for later Donghyuck catches him dozing off, the faint trace of purple underneath his eyes attesting to how little sleep he's been getting.

"You could ask Jaemin and Mark if they'd be okay if I came over to help you," Donghyuck suggests. His eyes flit back to the cat in his arms and he presses a kiss onto the top of Rabbit's head.  
"They know me, I've been over a few times already and as long as I have a place to plug my laptop in I'm good to go."

"You'd do that?"  
Despite the way Jeno clearly seems hesitant to ask for help, the tone of his voice is hopeful.  
"Even if you do work from home, this is still extra work. I don't want to be adding to your troubles."  
"You're adding more by not letting me sleep decent hours, you know?" Donghyuck brings up, though he nudges Jeno's shin with his big toe in reassurance—he's not actually mad anymore. The annoyance, no doubt, will kick in once he has to brave the cold hallway again in order to get back to his bed but Lee Donghyuck isn't heartless. It's not hard to understand Jeno's predicament.

"They should be awake right now," Jeno replies in place of a direct answer and produces his phone from the front pocket of his hoodie. They lapse back into companionable silence, Jeno texting while Donghyuck, with great relief, finds Rabbit dozing off in his lap. Maybe the hubbub has tired her out enough to grant the two men their own half night's worth of sleep now.

"I messaged Jaemin." The click of Jeno locking his phone screen again draws Donghyuck's attention.  
"I don't know when I'll get an answer, though. If they're with family they might be busy right now."  
Making grabby hands has never been a very exact means of communication but Donghyuck notes with satisfaction how Jeno seems to understand, unlocking his phone again.  
"What?" "Let me give you my phone number and KaTalk ID, then. Just text me once you hear back from Jaemin and I'll be over."

Their contacts are quickly exchanged and after stalling for a little longer until both he and Jeno are almost falling asleep seated on the wooden step of the entryway Donghyuck decides that it's bedtime for him. Whether Rabbit wakes from her nap again or not he doesn't stay awake for long enough to notice, falling into a dreamless sleep the moment his face meets his pillow.

🐱🧶

Donghyuck wakes to the sound of his phone vibrating and it takes him an embarrassing amount of time to make sense of the wall of messages he swipes KakaoTalk open to.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:21am**

hello donghyuck, jeno here! sorry if this message woke you up! ´w`"

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:21**

jaemin got back to me, he says he and mark are chill with you being over and watching rabbit during the day.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:22**

i made sure rabbit's food and water is fresh and her litter box should be okay as well so feel free to come over whenever you're caught up on your beauty sleep! The door code is 284639!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:22**

not that you need it, you were very handsome even when you were sleepy and mad at me.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:23**

please pretend i didn't send that. i slept for four hours, i won't be held accountable for any questionable statements made.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:24**

anyway, i'm headed out for work now, i should be back around eight! it's absolutely okay if you want to leave earlier, though, just give me a heads up so i know what to expect!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:25**

thank you again for agreeing to help! TT^TT

Donghyuck takes a moment to process the information, blinking blearily at the screen.

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 06:26**

dude it's half past six in the morning

**Lee Jeno wrote at 06:28**

i take about an hour to get to work… TT^TT

Ouch. Donghyuck briefly considered recording himself cackling gleefully but was quick to discard the idea. He might've done it with Renjun or Johnny whom he'd known for years, sure enough. Jeno, who not only is a new acquaintance but also had struck Donghyuck a little like the type of person so innocently earnest that he'd take things literally, is a different story.

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 06:28**

rip

He spends three minutes staring at his phone with mounting anxiety in the pit of his stomach—was this too much already?—before he decides that he has better things to do than to wait nervously for Jeno to reply. He's hot, Donghyuck reminds himself, but not _that_ hot.

At the end of the day this is about making sure that he gets the sleep he needs and making sure that Rabbit is okay. What's a handsome stranger in the grander scheme of things, really?

Donghyuck's work schedule changes depending on who his current employer and what the topic of his article is but for most of the part his writing cycle consists of more an active field work phase doing interviews and on-site research followed by a writing one he spends holed up in his flat.

Taemin, the new editor-in-chief of the Neo City Herald, has offered him the cute little cubby in the offices that the newspaper keeps for its rotating array of freelancers in the past but from experience Donghyuck has learnt that he is not only a sociable creature but also a sociable creature that gets easily distracted. So, the self-imposed solitude of his flat it is.

He's in the process of heating up dinner leftovers for breakfast when his phone finally rings again and Donghyuck is a little embarrassed to admit that in his excitement, he nearly forgets about his food on the stove.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 07:02**

sorry, i had to run to catch my train… there were so many people on the train too…

**Lee Jeno wrote at 07:03**

i usually live a little closer to my workplace so i don't have to get up that early!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 07:03**

except for now i have to get up earlier because i'm farther away AND rabbit keeps me up until two because she wants to play TT^TT

Donghyuck sends him the most sympathetic sticker he can find before chucking his phone onto the counter and moving to save his breakfast. He stubbornly ignores the voice in the back of his mind that sounds suspiciously like his best friend Renjun's, laughing at how it really just took one cute boy to mess with his focus.

They continue texting on and off throughout the process of Donghyuck having breakfast and moving up into unit 14B, the flow of their messages only interrupted once for a picture of Rabbit curled up on the couch for a status update. By the time Jeno announces that he should get to work it doesn't even feel like they met less than twenty-four hours ago.

Donghyuck treats himself to a longer lunch not only for getting to work earlier than he would but also because by the time he gets back from the corner convenience store, armed with a generous four rolls of kimbap (two for himself, two for Jeno because the Na-Lee fridge is dreadfully empty when he checked earlier), but also because Rabbit awaits him with an expectant swish of her tail when he looks up from his freshly plated meal.

While he wouldn't fashion himself a great photographer, selfie skills notwithstanding, Donghyuck would like to think that he manages to capture a fair amount of adorable pictures of Rabbit viciously hunting down her toy, a pipe cleaner dragonfly with colourful, translucent plastic wings attached to what must've been another toy's wand and string.

Jeno, upon receiving the full documentation of the cat's playtime adventures, replies with a veritable army of heart-eye emojis. The satisfaction of it fuels Donghyuck through most of his afternoon work.

Hunger kicks in around six in the evening and after another quick contemplation of Jaemin and Mark have stocked in their kitchen, Donghyuck concludes that he did his job well enough to justify his neighbours partly paying for his dinner tonight. Most of the fresh ingredients for the stir-fry and sundubu-jjigae he throws together he has to bring upstairs himself but there's enough rice in the pantry cupboard for him to be sure that the flat owners won't notice Donghyuck helping himself. He even has the presence of mind to send Jeno a mildly threatening text not to get any takeout on the way home.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 18:16**

you're cooking???

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 18:16**

i didn't say that, i only told you not to get takeout!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 18:16**

noted! °w°

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 18:17**

also i really hope you like tofu :,D otherwise you might want to get takeout after all…

**Lee Jeno wrote at 18:18**

ohoho? >u>

**Lee Jeno wrote at 18:18**

i eat just about anything, it'll be okay!

Jeno catches Donghyuck in the middle moving his laptop and notes from the small dining table to the sofa, Rabbit merrily pawing at his hair from where she's taken up residence in the hood of his sweater.

"Oh, it smells really good!"

Donghyuck huffs and gets up to greet him.  
"Damn right it does, I put a lot of effort into it!" His stern expression quickly melts into a softer smile. "It might look a little ugly, though, I'm not great at plating."

"As long as it tastes as good as it smells…" Jeno never finishes his sentence. Instead, he kicks off his shoes at the entry and loosens his tie in a motion that looks entirely too attractive for how tired he must be—Donghyuck, for his part, sure feels like he's been run over by an enthusiastic kitten.

"I'll set the table, go have a shower," Donghyuck instructs with a dismissive wave. Rabbit meows in what he chooses to take as agreement.

🐱🧶

It's surprisingly easy to fall into a daily routine after that, nevermind that less than a week ago Lee Jeno was a complete stranger. They exchange early morning texts at an hour Donghyuck hasn't voluntarily left his bed for in years followed by breakfast and work, the latter interspersed with the most unpredictability he gets these days—Rabbit and her moods. Donghyuck, against his mother's and Renjun's claims that he'd be so much more efficient if he actually had a more regulated workday schedule, didn't miraculously grow into some sort of productivity beast (in fact, he had to put in an all-nighter to finish up one of his articles regardless) but he found surprising amounts of comfort in having that sort of consistency.

He'd always told himself that he'd clean up his habits once he settled into his working professional life but fact is: freelancing is damn hard to figure out. Donghyuck's need for variety has never properly balanced his ability to stay disciplined across the board and so he'd mostly gone from more to less chaotic periods of time, never quite settled enough to survey what actually worked for him and what didn't.

It feels almost a little too simplistic that looking after a cat with someone else would be the solution to so much of it, yet here he is.

Maybe once he gets a better grip on things he could think about getting a pet of his own too. Maybe.  
Though the train of thought leaves him wondering if it'd be the same if it were just him looking after an animal.

🐱🧶

Donghyuck doesn't always stay over and have dinner with Jeno, who, unlike him who has the flat to himself for the day, spends his day surrounded by his colleagues and giving him space and privacy feels only right but even so it starts to feel like they actively share a bit of their lives with each other.

Jeno is funny in a way Donghyuck doesn't expect and not always as innocent as he'd initially thought, either. Seeing him crack an inappropriate joke three days into their feline co-parenting endeavours is both a surprise and all the invitation Donghyuck needs to stop tiptoeing around his sense of humour.

Then, the week ends, and even though Jeno is home to take care of the cat himself Donghyuck stops by anyway, bearing pastry he picks up on a whim after meeting Johnny for coffee and a potential future job proposal. He hasn't had someone to celebrate these things with in a while and when his ' _are you home_ ' text is met with a picture of Rabbit napping on Jeno's lap he interprets it as an invitation.

Donghyuck thinks for a moment before pressing the call button.  
"I come bearing goods," he announces cheerily the moment Jeno picks up.  
"Oh, _goods_! What kind of goods? Are they goods I'm allowed to like?"  
"I impulse-bought cream puffs because I've been offered a job and kind of need help eating them." Donghyuck clears his throat, glad that Jeno can't see the way his ears are heating up.  
"Help I can provide," comes the good-natured response. "I don't say no to free food. Though, you've been feeding me quite a bit these past few days. I think it's time for me to repay the favour."

Donghyuck scales the steps to the monorail station that connects most of central Neo City two steps at a time, humming.  
"I do appreciate you acknowledging my efforts."  
"I really do! I also went grocery shopping today so I actually have stuff around to cook today. How does that sound?"  
"Like a pretty nice dinner, if you ask me."

🐱🧶

"I don't think I ever asked where you work!" Donghyuck licks his lips, checking for any stray bits of cream left. With their dinner and dessert both devoured, he and Jeno have moved to the big, comfortable couch in Jaemin and Mark's living room, Rabbit dozing peacefully on the seat cushion between them.

"You don't have to answer if that's too personal or anything, just. We've been talking so much these past few days, it's kind of weird to think I don't know what you do for a living."  
Jeno doesn't look at him when he laughs. The sound is small and a little defeated.  
"Train stuff, mainly," he mumbles. "I work for the city monorail, in the IT department. Help keep the systems running smoothly, all of that jazz."

"You don't sound particularly _jazzed_ , though…" Donghyuck shifts, making himself more comfortable. Jeno keeps avoiding his eyes, busying himself with tugging at the zipper of one of the couch pillow covers.  
"I guess I'm not. It's not really a job I'm passionate about, you know? But it's important and it pays really well so I took it when I was offered." The words are accompanied by a helpless shrug.

"I'm saving up, though, so I can go to uni again in a few years. I think I wanna do game design. I already know a lot of the programming stuff anyway, might as well put it all to a creative use, right?"  
The smile Donghyuck gets is shy but hopeful and although Jeno looks like he expects pushback or to be told that game development isn't a _real_ job or anything of the like his gaze is confident.  
"I think that sounds pretty cool," Donghyuck replies, the corners of his mouth pulling upwards as well. "Like you got it all figured out for yourself already."  
"I've had a lot of time to think about it. Work can get a little dull at times," Jeno confesses.  
The conversation goes to video games to stories worth telling where it branches off into a million little tangents until neither Donghyuck nor Jeno can recall where they started and the kitchen clock over the oven informs them that it's almost midnight.

"Well, I won't abuse your hospitality any longer."  
Donghyuck picks up his belongings by the door and shrugs on his coat before turning back to grin at Jeno.  
"But I really appreciated it. Thanks for having me."  
"Thanks for the dessert!" Ever polite, Jeno quickly interjects. "And, you know. In general, for helping me out this past week. You didn't have to."  
"I kind of did, this was about my sleep schedule too!"  
Donghyuck's teasing protest is answered with a sleepy smile.

"Well, I hope you sleep well tonight."  
"I'm sure I will. Rabbit has been doing so much better now that she gets in playtime during the day!"  
Jeno nods enthusiastically.  
"She has! And that's all thanks to you!"

They share another smile and perhaps it's a little aimless and awkward, Donghyuck hovering by the door with his shoelaces only hastily stuffed into his shoes for the trip downstairs and Jeno still holding a dirty, empty glass in his hand.  
Donghyuck leaves with the feeling of a million fireflies lighting up his heart.

🐱🧶

Tuesday arrives sooner than they'd thought. Jeno comes home earlier than usual to clean flat 14B up for its owners' return and Donghyuck, in a moment of generosity, helps him where he can.

"You really didn't have to," Jeno says, "but thank you. It really does go by a lot faster when you're in two."  
Grinning, Donghyuck waves him off.  
"Please, I've been using the flat too. But if it really bothers you, you could always thank me by paying for my dinner," he suggests cheekily.

They spend the time waiting for their pizza order playing with Rabbit and feeding her a few extra treats for the bravery she showed fighting the vacuum cleaner and although the silence between them today doesn't feel oppressive it sits a little strangely in the room.  
Donghyuck isn't sure how he feels about their arrangement coming to an end like this. Tomorrow morning, Jeno will leave with an extra duffle bag—Donghyuck has seen it waiting in a corner of the tiny guest bedroom, already mostly packed—and they'll technically have no more reason to talk to each other.

Of course that is a very simplistic view of it all, Jeno no longer cat-sitting Rabbit doesn't mean they're suddenly out of conversation topics. Most of what their talks over the past week and a half touched on had quickly gotten away from cat matters and Donghyuck would love to learn more about what Jeno thinks and gets up to.  
The chances of them vowing to stay in touch and never following up on it, however, are still there and with how busy Jeno is under the week Donghyuck wouldn't fault him for not staying on top of his messages or anything of the like.

"What's on your mind?" The question comes a little suddenly, Jeno's voice gentle.  
Weighing his choices, Donghyuck takes a moment to chew contemplatively on his pizza.  
"Just thinking about how it'd be nice if we could stay in touch. I had a lot of fun hanging out with you."

He wonders if the light is playing tricks on him when he looks over to Jeno and catches a flicker of _something_ across Jeno's features. At first glance, Donghyuck would've thought it disappointment.

"Yeah, uh. Me too."  
The way the other slips into awkward fidgeting and furtive glances at Rabbit and the open pizza box, still half full and basically everything in the room other than Donghyuck makes him feel like it might've been the wrong thing to say. Unsure of what to do he takes another bite, chewing resolutely.

"Hey, Donghyuck? Can I ask you something?"  
It's tempting to reply with a teasing ' _you just did_ ' but in light of what just happened, Donghyuck chooses to tread more carefully.  
"Sure, ask away."  
Jeno takes his time with it, stalling by stuffing the reminder of his slice of pizza into his mouth. His bulging cheeks make him look a little like a cute, oversized rodent.

"You think it'd be crazy of me to ask you out?"  
Donghyuck takes a moment to puzzle the other's words together. Even anticipating them they come so quickly, it feels a little like he just walked face first into a glass pane.  
"I know we've only met a few days ago and everything but I've really liked spending time with you and I want to see you again after this and–"  
Jeno's teeth click loudly when he shuts his mouth too quickly and he winces. It takes Donghyuck another stunned moment to parse through his nervous rambling but by the end of it he catches himself smiling.

"People have asked each other out over way less than shared custody over someone else's cat, you know?"  
He watches with delight as Jeno laughs. There is still a nervous edge to his voice but he already seems to be relaxing a little.  
"I've never– not this way, you know? All of the people I've dated were ones I'd known and been friends with for years."

"Well, we can be friends first too! We can be friends who go on dates together and if the dates turn into something else, that's cool." Donghyuck hesitates for a moment before reaching across the space between them and placing his hand on Jeno's.  
"How does that sound to you?"

🐱🧶

Wednesday morning finds Donghyuck waking at five-forty in the morning without even setting an alarm. He's halfway out of bed when Jeno's first message—and it is Jeno, doubtlessly, none of his other friends text him at such an unholy time of the day—has his phone buzzing.

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:49**

good morning!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:49**

jm & mk are set to land in a bit, they should be home around ten? noon, at worst. jaemin said i should tell you to stop by later today, they brought you souvenirs!

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:50**

payment in souvenirs, nice! you figure i'm getting maple syrup?

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:50**

i always wondered if canadian maple syrup imported directly from canada tastes more magical than the stuff you get at the supermarket here…

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:51**

also hi, good morning ❤️ did you dream of me?

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:51**

😳

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:51**

maybe. did you dream of me?

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:52**

maybe 😇

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:53**

i'm excited for saturday. can it please be saturday soon?

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:54**

not that much of the week left! we can do it!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:54**

though i can't believe you're making me watch a romcom…

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:55**

listen, i will have none of your judgemental bs in this chat!! you saw the trailer, it looked like fun!

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:56**

it did…

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:57**

pretend you're watching it for park hyesoo, not for the plot! and for jung jaehyun! and for that cute kitty in the trailer!

**Lee Donghyuck wrote at 05:58**

… and maybe a little bit for me…

**Lee Jeno wrote at 05:59**

definitely a little bit for you ❤️


End file.
